6
The Michigan Daily Friday, November 13,1992 Page 8
And Lemonheads taste great, too!
The harsh
'
by Scott Sterling
No one can forget the unparal-
leled bliss that can only occur during
adolescence, no matter how fleeting
those little moments may have been.
Sitting in your bedroom, holding that
crappy Realistic tape recorder (the
one you saved up weeks worth of al-
lowances to afford) up to one of the
plastic speakers of your kiddie
stereo, anxiously waiting to tape that
one song off of WDRQ. That one
song you couldn't get out of your
head. Ihe song that seemed so
damned important, the song that you
lived for. Two and a half minutes of
U
Physical'Therapists
Pharmacists
Bioenvironmental Engineers
Plan a future that soars.
Take your science-related degree.
into the Air Force, and become an
officer in the Biomedical Sciences
Corps. You'll learn more, you'll grow
faster-you'll work with other dedi-
cated professionals in a quality envi-
ronment where your contributions
are needed.
In short, you'll gain more of every-
thing that matters most to you. You
and the Air Force. Launch now-call
USAF HEALTH PROFESSIONS
TOLL FREE
1-800-423-USAF
"
pure pop bliss.
"It's A Shune About Ray," the
Lemonheads latest record, definitely
hasn't forgotten those feelings. Head
lemon Evan lDando has squeezed
them into 12 glorious songs of love,
loss, friendships, boys, and girls -
it's a catalog of those overwhelming
teenage emotions that you were too
awkward to express anywhere but in
secret journals and tattered diaries.
From their now-classic debut
single, "Laughing All The Way To
The Cleaners," Dando (accompanied
by an ever-changing line-up of mu-
sicians) has consistently turned out
outrageously great guitar pop songs.
It would seem that, like Prince, he
has a vault full of them that he can
toss out at will.
"I actually don't write that many
songs," Dando said from a friend's
house in Boston. "That's why I do so
many covers (like his brilliant ver-
sion of Suzanne Vega's "Luka"). I
don't wanna put out songs that I
don't like. Not that I write extra'
sonygs ever, but I try not to force
songs. I just let them happen.
There's always some guitar progres-
sion hanging around that sounds
cool, and then I think about what I
want to write about. Usually just
things from everyday life."
What also makes Lemnonheads
songs s charming is the fact that
they're so short and sweet. "It's A
Shame About Ray" tears through its
12 songs in under half an hour.
"A lot of people say it's too
short, but I never thought that. They
seem like full songs to me. Why go
on longer than a song should be'? It
was fun to try and cross out every
other line, not to say too much or be
too ambitious, and not to flower it up
with anything," recalled Dando.
I-Ie wrote all of the songs during a
six-week solo acoustic tour last year
in Australia, opening for Fugazi.
"It was really fun. It was a funny
mix. Me playing acoustic, and then
Fugazi would come out. It was a
good way to set them up, I think.
We'd just been down there (as the
Lemonheads), and our tour had went
pretty well, people were hip to it."
After he returned from the land
of Oz, Dando (with drummer David
Ryan and former roommate Juliana
Hatfield on bass) set up shop in Los
Angeles to record. And while he's
happy with the results, the next one
will have a decidedly different vibe.
"I think I wanna make it less
slick. We wanted to try making a to-
gether sounding album for once. It
was fun to make a really polished
album, but I think on the next one
I'd like to let loose a little more,"
related Danudo.
With this being his second major-
label album, it seems that Atlantic
Records is ready to cash i2I on the
Lemonheads potentially huge power
pop. To coincide with the upcoming
release of cinema classic "The Grad-
uate," on video, the company chose
dr egam
by Megan Abbott
6
Dando
reality of the
American
Dando and company to cover Simon
and Garfunmikel's "Mrs. Robinson,"
which has beei added to the latest
pressing of the album.
And the fact that Dando has be-
come the underground pop sex sym-
bol only adds to his box-office ap-
peal. He's swooned over in the
pages of Sassy magazine on a regu-
lar basis, and very nearly could have
replaced Vanilla Ice as an object of
Madonna's affections in her coffee
table (s)expose.
"The Madonna thing," cackled
Dando. "Her photographer, Steven
Meisel, saw a picture of me, and he
had some idea to do pictures of me
with her. I don't know, but some-
thing happened and it didn't go
through. But the thought was enter-
taining, though."
THE LEMONHEADS per form at .St.
Andrew 's Hall in Detroit tomorrow
night with SOUL ASYLUM and
WALT MINK. Tickets are $9.50
(p.e.s.c.) in: advance. Doors open at
9 p.m. 18 and over.
,C
Many consider Robert Altman
the foremost American director of
the 1970s. It now appears that, after
a dismal ten years of unsuccessful
work like "Popeye," Robert Altman
has returned to a state of filmic grace
with the scathing satire, "The Play-
er." Now, thenl, seems a perfect time
to return to one of Altman's earlie
triumphs, the 1971 revisionist west'
erni, "McCabe and Mrs. Miller."
"McCabe and Mrs. Miller," a
very loose adaptation of the Edmund'
Naughton novel, tells the story ol
John McCabe (Warren Beatty), i
I.
CAMPUS CINEMA ',
?
I J
M
Nail-biting,tear-jerking'70s suspense
The University of Michigan
Men's Glee Club
133rd Annual Fall Concert
November 14, 1992 - 8:00 PM
Hill Auditorium
also appearing: Th e Friars
tickets - $10, $8, $5, $3 (student)
For more infor mation
or to order tickets call
764-1448
or charge by phone by calling th
Michigan Union Ticket Office at
763-TkTS
by Sarah Weidman
If you've been waiting for a
movie with tear-jerking drama, fine
acting and a lot of nail-biting sus-
pense, you've waited too long. It all
happened in "The China Syndrome"
back in '79.
"The China Syndrome" is the
story of Kimberly Wells (Jane
Fonda), a TV reporter who uncovers
a nuclear meltdown cover-up at the
The China Syndrome
Directed by James Bridges; with Jane
Fonda, Jack Lemmnon ad Michael
Douglas
Ventana Nuclear Power Plant in Los
Angeles. Wells is KXLA's features
reporter, ready to move on from
stories involving tigers' birthdays,
migrating whales, and singing tele-
grams. Call it fate when her series on
the nuclear plant leads her into hard
news reporting.
Michael Douglas is Wells' loyal
photographer - a feisty freelancer
convinced it is his responsibility to
inform the public of the nuclear ac-
cident, regardless of the legalities.
I-Ie and Wells go head to head tying
to get their story on the air.
Jack Lemnmon as Jack Godell is a
dedicated shift supervisor at the
plant who is torn between his con-
science and his commitment to conI-
fidentiality. His work at the plant is
his passion. Lemmon creates a des-
perate old man caught in the middle
of a bureaucracy beyond his control.
Three renowned actors, three
wonderful characters. Each role has
a strong personality - driven,
strong-willed, and intensely dedi-
cated to his or her career. Yet despite
the defined differences in occupa-
tions and interests, the characters
blend to create a realistic and excit-
ing balance.
The movie was made over a
decade ago, but the subplot is still
relevant. Wells is an attractive re-
porter forced to prove her talent for
hard news reportin in a sexist me-
dia enviro}lnent. Shle is stuck in thle
fluff department of news and can't
move onto permanent press.
"The China Syndrome" addresses
common conflicts between the me-
dia world and its yearn to expose.
Ethical reporting comes into play, as
it does everyday in the news world.
Who wins this battle for informa-
tion? I'm not at liberty to say.
THE CHINA SYNDROME is show-
ing ton ight and tomorroiv at 7 p.n.
in Angell Hall Aud. A Tickets are $3.
M
e
McCabe & Mrs. Miller
Diiected by Robert Altman with
Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Shelley 1
Duvall, and Michael Murphy
gambler and would-be entrepreneur
who happens upon a small minin,
settlement in the Pacific Northwes
It is 1902, anid there is no true fron-
tier left, but McCabe is determined
to act out the role of explorer-capi .
talist. -c brings three prostitutes
from another town and sets out to
establish a three-tent whorehouse
next to the settlement saloon.
McCabe aspires to be the rugged
individualist of popufar Westermi leg-
end. But, unlike the movie Wester
ideal, McCabe is actually a man of
minor ambition and a fondness for
drink and cards. It is not until Coni
stance Miller (Julie Christie), a-
shrewd prostitute, arrives that Mc-.
Cabe begins to think "big."
Altman is rewriting history herel
Granted, "McCabe amid Mrs. Miller'"
is partly about the old theme of indi-
vidual versus corporate society. Bufw
it also rejects anty romnatie ideal of4
the West as a new Eden. After al
McCabe is not the ew sheriff or tz
new leader or the new toral foet
I-le is a bumbling capitalist out ti
make a fetw quick bucks.
But McCabe is a dreamer of th
most bittersweet kind. He does have
a vision (though he can't quite are
ticulate it), but in Altman's pictur
of the American West that visio
must face the brutal realities of a
vast national corporate society whicli
is just beginning to take hold at th
turn of the century.
In this way, "McCabe and Mr
Miller" is deeply involved in a bleaw
myth-dissection of the failed Ameri
can Dream. Beatty typifies M
Cabe's pathetic charm and epi
failure with a depth he rarely in
yokes. Ad-fibbing much of the dia.
Log ue, he says at one point, "We
I'll tell ya sonethin'. I!got poetry i'
me. I do." After watching his relent-
less struggle, we find ourselves b
lieving him. Moreover, te prenni
ally great Julie Christie provides &
startlingly unsentimental portrait
Mrs. Miller -- a woman too prag
matic and wounded by life to fall f
McCabe's efforts at old-style court
ing.
But, like most Altman films, yo
have to work while watching
"McCabe aid Mrs. Miller." The dia-
logue overlaps, scenes last forever,
and seemingly significant details
take center stage only to disappear
for the rest of the film. In fact, Alt-
man gives us no standard heroes, no
epiphanies, no retribution, and no
closure. But he does give us a very
effective and distinctly American
work which exposes the harsh reality
behind the Dream, while finally
praising the dreamers themselves.
MCCABE AND MRS MILLER p/avys
Sunday at 7 p.. in the NaIt Sci
A"ditoriu^. Adssion isfre.
U Is
. __ _-.
Presented by Leader Marketing
We Blow
Away
Everyone's
Price
n
Stereos &
Electronics!
THE NOVI EXPO CENTER
November 13 - 15; Friday - Sunday
Friday 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday 10 a.m. -8 p.m.
If you can't make it to the Expo Center call our
Mail Order Department at 1-800-877-DEAL for a
FREE CATALOG.
Save up to 8%
On Brand Names
Like
Pioneer* JBL
Pyle* Kenwood
* Alpine *Sony
*Alwa * MTX
* Sherwood *
* Pyramid*
* Blaupunkt*
* Yamaha *
CH t NA
GARDEN
Restaurant
Szechuan, Hunan, & Peking Cuisine
Now Open!
15% OFF Special
Dinner and Carryout Menu
Reservations 971-0970
3035 Washtenaw, Ann Arbor
Open Mon.-Thur. 11:30-10, Fri. 11:30-11,
Sat. Noon-11, Sun. Noon-10
I Free Parking!
44
Choose from the
Largest Selection in
America!
1"" ..
n
$3 Admission Charge Satisfactionl
C'hildren under 12 and Adults over 65 FREE Guarnteed
4
U
Upcoming films from:
L __
'a
Nov. 13 & 14, Aud A, $3 single/$5 double
7:00 pm
The China Syndrome
r_ __--___--_--- ---_t,
I " --- - PRESENTS.
1
MUSIC INSPIRED BY
THE JACKSONS: AN AMERICAN DREAM
FEATURING WHO S LOVIN YOU lO VE' " 'N THE
ISTIIlL OF THE NIGHT " STAY ',I TH tI 'E A (V.1
Ilt ME fEROM IRE F:JACKSCWN :.'J
' AMERICAN REAMJ
Catch the TV mini-series about the Jackson 5
NovemberI5&18on ABC.
The soundtrack contains the hot new single by
Boyz II Men, "In The Still Of The Night"
I On sale thru 11/21/92 cD $11.99
with a copy of this ad cassette $7.99
1
1
I
Starring Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, and Michael Douglas. A
TV news reporter (Fonda) and a cameraman (Douglas).
stumble upon a cover-up at a nuclear power plant. Gripping
suspense.
9-15 nm - Until the End of the World.
1
MAYNARD
i PARTY STORE
326 Maynard. 995-1888